The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus for communication of image signals.
Generally, LANs, ISDNs, public lines, etc. have been used as communication means for facsimile apparatus. Conventionally, a user has made contracts with a plurality of telephone companies, and, of these companies, the user has chosen the type of line which requires the cheapest communication cost.
However, in the case where a user could make a contract with only one telephone company so that the user could not use any line other than the line the company provides, even if a communication means for the line did not succeed in trying communication prescribed times by the user, it was impossible for the user to choose any other cheaper means to further try the communication.
Further, when a user wishes to transmit image signal data to a plurality of partners in one operation, it is necessary for the user to specify a partner for every communication means or every line. For example, in the case where one partner can make communication through a general public telephone line and through a LAN while another partner can make communication only through the general public telephone line, the user should specify the general public telephone line to transmit image signal data to both the partners at one operation. Thus, in such a case, there was a problem that the user could not use the LAN effectively.
Taking the foregoing conventional problem into consideration, it is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus in which not only it is possible to automatically choose a communication means requiring the cheapest communication cost, by a simple operation by using LANs as well as general public lines and ISDNs, but also it is possible to automatically choose the second cheapest communication means if the communication cannot be carried out through the cheapest communication means, and, at the same time, it is possible to avoid complicated setting-up every time communication is carried out.
In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a facsimile apparatus comprising at least two of a PSTN (public switched telephone network) adaptor means for transmitting and receiving data through general public telephone lines, an ISDN adaptor means for transmitting and receiving data through ISDN lines, and an LANs adaptor means for transmitting and receiving data through a LAN, the facsimile apparatus further comprising: a data input means for inputting destination data of respective communication partners; a memory means for storing the destinations inputted by the data input means; a scanner means for inputting image data of a copy; a data compressing means for compressing the image data taken in by the scanner means; and a first control means for making the memory means store the respective destination data in the form of being associated with each other if a partner has two or more communication means when the destination data are inputted, calculating the communication cost in communicating through the respective communication means if a partner to which communication is to be sent is given by a user when the user perform communication, selecting a communication means of the cheapest communication cost, and transmitting the compressed image data. By such a configuration, the communication means of the cheapest communication cost can be automatically selected by a simple operation not only by using a general public telephone line and ISDN but also by using a LAN, and when the communication can not be performed by the communication means. The second cheapest communication means is automatically selected to thereby perform the communication.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, provided is a facsimile apparatus comprising at least one of a PSTN adaptor means for transmitting and receiving data through general public telephone lines, and an ISDN adaptor means for transmitting and receiving data through ISDN lines, the facsimile apparatus further comprising: a data input means for inputting destination data of respective communication partners; a memory means for storing the destinations inputted by the data input means; a scanner means for inputting image data of a copy; a data compressing means for compressing the image data taken in by the scanner means; a selecting means for selecting a portion of the memory means for storing the destination data therein or reading out the destination data therefrom; a first control means for making the selecting means select a one-touch dial memory area for storing the destination data, and making the memory means store two or more partners and the communication means associated with the partners by means of the input means; and a third control means for, if partners to which communication is to be sent are specified by the selecting means and when the specified partners are those registered as belonging to one and the same specific group on a LAN, automatically extracting not individual information of the individual partners but an IP address of the group, and transmitting the compressed image data to the group IP address. In such a configuration, one and the same image data can be sent by one operation to a plurality of partners of different groups or a plurality of partners in one and the same group so that the communication cost and communication time can be saved.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, provided is a facsimile apparatus comprising at least one of a PSTN adaptor means for transmitting and receiving data through general public telephone lines, and an ISDN adaptor means for transmitting and receiving data through ISDN lines, the facsimile apparatus further comprising: a LAN adaptor means for transmitting and receiving data through a LAN; a data input means for inputting destination data of respective communication partners; a memory means for storing the destinations inputted by the data input means; a selecting means for selecting a portion of the memory means for storing the destination data therein or reading out the destination data therefrom; a fourth control means for making the selecting means select a one-touch dial memory area for storing the destination data, and making the memory means store two or more partners and the communication means associated with the partners, and store services of partners known in advance in the form of being associated with the destination data; and a fifth control means for, if a partner to which communication is to be sent is specified by the selecting means, requesting the services registered by the service storage means from the partner. In such a configuration, it is not necessary to perform complicated service setting every time communication is made and the communication can be made by one operation.